Housing assembly on a hillside

ABSTRACT

There is disclosed a housing assembly for disposition on a hill. The hill is graded into terraces at approximately equally spaced elevations. Typically the height of each terrace above the terrace just below is about 9 feet and the width of each terrace is about 50 feet. Housing units are disposed along the terraces with a pedestrian passageway and an open area for a court or garden for each unit between the wall rising from the terrace to the next terrace above and the walls of the unit. Typically each unit is about 9 feet high, 40 feet long, and 32 feet wide, for lower cost the unit may be 9 by 36 by 24 feet. Each unit provides a shelter along the passageway below and has a clear view away from the hill. The units are formed of two-bedroom modules which are readily convertible into one- and three-bedroom units. The passageways for the units are approachable by a pedestrian approach perpendicular to the terraces at an angle to the horizontal convenient for pedestrian use. Parking, recreational, and service facilities are on the periphery of the assembly.

United States Patent 1 Levenson 51 Apr. 3, 1973 [54] HOUSING ASSEMBLY ON A HILLSIDE [76] Inventor: Nathan S. Levenson, 1365 Cordova Road, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15217 [22] Filed: Jan. 8, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 104,982

OTHER PUBLICATIONS Architectural Forum, July 1942, pg. 83.

Primary Examiner-Alfred C. Perham Attorney-Hymn Diamond [57] ABSTRACT There is disclosed a housing assembly for disposition on a hill. The hill is graded into terraces at approximately equally spaced elevations. Typically the height of each terrace above the terrace just below is about 9 feet and the width of each terrace is about 50 feet. Housing units are disposed along the terraces with a pedestrian passageway and an open area for a court or garden for each unit between the wall rising from the terrace to the next terrace above and the walls of the unit. Typically each unit is about 9 feet high, 40 feet long, and 32 feet wide, for lower cost the unit may be 9 by 36 by 24 feet. Each unit provides a shelter along the passageway below and has a clear view away from the hill. The units are formed of two-bedroom modules which are readily convertible into oneand three-bedroom units. The passageways for the units are approachable by a pedestrian approach perpendicular to the terraces at an angle to the horizontal convenient for pedestrian use. Parking, recreational, and service facilities are on the periphery of the assembly.

11 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEBAPRB I975 3,724,147

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PATENTEDAPRS ms 3,724,147

sum 3 0F 3 I l g 23 -23 z 32 FIG.5

HOUSING ASSEMBLY ON A HILLSIDE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION vice facilities and may have a garage for parking its vehicles. Passenger vehicles and trucks may also be parked on the street. Vehicular traffic moves along the streets at all times. To a large extent the units on the hill look into the adjacent houses or those on the opposite side of the street instead of having a view away from the I hill.

This prior-art practice is uneconomical. The number of units which can be built along the streets with their own services and parking facilities is limited. The cost of installing the streets even for a limited number of units is high. In addition, there are many hills, particularly in crowded urban areas, which cannot accommodate the streets and the housing units along them.

Other prior-art practice is to build high-rise apartments. Such apartments have the disadvantages that privacy is minimized and that the residents do not have immediate access to ground. I

It is an object of this invention to overcome the above-described disadvantages of the prior-art practice and to provide a housing assembly, particularly suitable for hills, which shall avail itself economically of the area on the hill and shall lend itself to use on hills of all types. It is also an object of this invention to provide a housing assembly on a hill in which each unit shall have a clear view away from the hill, immediate access to the ground and an area or court open to the sky, and in which each unit shall afford its occupants the maximum privacy and security.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with this invention, a hill, on which a housing assembly is to be built, is formed into terraces at different levels and the housing units are built on the terraces. Successive terraces along the hill may be at different elevations but in accordance with an aspect of this invention the elevation of each terrace above the terrace below is of the same magnitude, the magnitude being such as to just accommodate the height of the housing units on the lower terrace. In this way the most economical use is made of the area afforded by the hill for housing. The housing units are advantageously onestory units, the roof of the housing unit on a terrace being typically about 9 feet above the ground. The elevation of each terrace above the one immediately below is then-about'9 feet. With this construction the housing units on each terrace have a clear view away from the hill and are provided with the usual picture windows and a patio to take advantage of thisview. The

height may be appropriately increased where the steepness of the hill demands it.

The housing units on each terrace may be an array of adjacent modules, each module including two bedrooms with their bathroom facilities aligned-along the width of the terrace and a living-dining room and kitchen contiguous to the bedrooms and also aligned along the width of the terrace. The modules are readily convertible into one or three-bedroom housing units. Three alternatives are thus available. Typically each module may be about 40 feet in length along the width of the terrace.

Between the units on each terrace and the wall rising from its terrace to the next terrace there is a space providing a pedestrian passageway to the units and an area, open to the sky, which may serve for a court, garden or the like. The wall between theterraces may be in part a retaining wall or, where the terrain is rocky, the wall may be the bare terrain. In accordance with an aspect of this invention, the units on each terrace extend over the passageway for the units on the terrace just below. This extension of the units above does not obstruct the area open to the sky of the units below.

The passageways along each terrace for the units are approachable from a pedestrian approach extending along the hill generally perpendicular to the terraces. For elevation between terraces of about 9 feet and module width of about forty feet, the angle of this approach to the horizontal is about l3 (arc tan .23). Such an approach can be readily traversed on foot. However, in the practice of this invention, the approach is provided with a driven rise such as an escalator, belt, incline or the like. Pairs of such driven mechanisms may be spaced along the hill, one mechanism of each pair moving upwardly and the other downwardly, or there may be single reversible mechanisms with the usual automatic controls.

The passageways and approaches are capable of being used only by pedestrians and household vehicles such as bicycles or carts. The assembly is provided at its outer perimeter with one or more garages or parking areas for vehicles and a center for recreation and services, such as a central temperature control system for heating and cooling the units, water-supply, solid waste and sanitary sewage removal facilities and electricalpower distribution system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a better understanding of this invention, both as to its use and as to its method of operation, together with additional objectsand advantages thereof, reference is made to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective showing a housing assembly in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmental view showing plan views of housing units on adjacent terraces;

FIG. 3 is a view in section taken along line III-III of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmental view in perspective showing a portion of the passageway for housing units on a terrace and parts of the adjacent units;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a typical two-bedroom module which forms the basis of the housing units in accordance with this invention; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmental plan view showing the manner in which two adjacent modules are formed into a onebedroom and a three-bedroom apartment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 shows a housing assembly 11 on a hill 13. The hill 13 is formed into terraceslS and housing units 17 are built on each of the terraces 15. The housing units 17 are formed of abutting single-story modules 19 (FIGS. 2, 5, 6). The walls 23 between succeeding terraces are of approximately the same height, this height being such that the roofs 25 of the units 17 on any terrace 15 are about at the level of the ground of the terrace 15 just above. The units 17 on each terrace 15 thus have a clear view away from the hill 13.

The units 17 on each terrace 15 have an access pedestrian passageway 27. The bases 29 of the units 17 on each upper terrace 15 extend over the passageway 27 of the terrace just below providing shelter for those approaching the entrances 31 of each of the units 17 on the lower terrace. Lighting units 30 may be provided in the bases 29. Each unit 17 includes a patio 33 which extends beyond the base 29 that is the cover for the passageway 27 of the unit 17 on the terrace 13 just below. The patio 33 may be omitted or recessed back from the cover 29. The roofs 25 of the units 17 on the terrace 13 below may thus serve to support the patios 33. The base 29 and the associated front portion of a unit 17 on an upper terrace is supported by the rear wall 32 of the corresponding unit on the just lower terrace. The wallward or passageway half-portion of each module forming a unit 17 is set back from the other half of the module (see FIG. 4 and to wall 34 so that the base 29 of the upper unit merely spans the setback portion, span 36, providing a court having an opening to the sky. For lower-cost units the sheltering base 29 can be modified by recessing the units 17 on the upper terraces so that the front wall 38 rests only on its terrace flush with wall 23 and the passageway 27 is no longer totally covered. In this case the patios 33 can be omitted or, if included, no longer rest on the roofs 25 of the unit 17 just below.

Pedestrian approaches 35 and 37 are provided for the passageways 27. These approaches 35 and 37 are at right angles to the terraces and intersect the passageways 27 at all levels. The approaches 35 and 37 may be enclosed by a cover 40, and heated or cooled, and provided with driven lifts 39 and 41 such as escalators, or belts, or inclines along which those entering or leaving the units may be moved. While the approaches 35 and 37 should preferably be at an angle of no more than about degrees to the horizontal for the comfort of the passengers, the angle may be as high as 30' particularly where the lifts have cabs similar to elevators. One of the lifts 39 may be driven upwardly and the other 41 downwardly or a reversible lift may be included.

The housing assembly 11 includes a facility 51 for parking, recreation and service adjacent a highway 52. This facility includes multi-level garages 53 and 55 approachable by ramps 57 opening into the different levels. The ramps 57 are housed in a building 59 which has a swimming pool 61 on its roof. A tennis court 63 and other like recreational facilities may be provided on the roofs of the garages 53 and 55. The heating and cooling equipment (not shown) may be in a building 71 near the facility 51. Electrical power is supplied through underground cables (not shown) and the heating or cooling air is supplied through underground conductors (not shown). Water, sanitary sewage and surface water is conducted through underground conductors (not shown). The facility 51 includes provisions (not shown) for disposing of solid waste. Other services are similarly provided.

Each module 19 includes two bedrooms 75 and 77, a living-dining room 79 and a kitchen 81. The bedrooms 75 and 77 are back-to-back and have respective closets 83 and 85 having a common wall 87. A bathroom 89 and 91 is associated with each bedroom 75 and 77. Each bathroom 89, 91 includes a commode 93 and 94 and a sink 95 and 96 on the side towards the associated bedroom. A bathtub 97 may be included in one or the other of the bathrooms by selective positioning of a wall 99. For a two-bedroom unit the wall is positioned so that the bathtub 97 is in the bathroom 91 for bedroom 77. In this case there is an open passage 100 between the bedrooms 75 and 77. The kitchen 81 has the usual appliances 103.

The entrance 31 leads into a hallway which has a lateral clothes closet 101 and lateral opening 107 into the kitchen 81 and a direct opening 109 into the livingdining room 79. Each module 19 has a court 111 outside of the kitchen 81. Each court 111 is directly below the space 113 bounded by the patio 33 of the unit just above and the portion of the cover 29 adjacent the patio 33 and is open to the sky. The space 113 may be provided with a permanent or removable transparent or translucent dome or cover 115 and may be heated or cooled as required. With the covers 38 and 115 and the shelters 29 the total assembly can be used even under most extreme climatic conditions.

Two modules may be converted into a one-bedroom apartment 121 and a three-bedroom apartment 123 (FIGS. 2, 6) by positioning the wall 99 so that the bathtub 97 is in the bathroom 75 and providing a closure 125 for opening 100. In this case bedroom 75 of one module is the bedroom of the one-bedroom apartment 121 and the bedroom 77 of this module is added to the abutting module 19 and an opening 127 is provided between the living-dining room 79 of the latter module and the added bedroom 77 forming the threebedroom unit 123. Alternatively, two single closet units may be installed on each side of opening 100. Indicated by broken lines on FIG. 6.

As shown in FIG. 6 the modules on each terrace are abutted with their living-dining room kitchen section and their bedroom sections in the same order. With this construction the third bedroom 77 of a three-bedroom unit is separated from the bedroom 77 of the twobedroom section by the living-dining room. An alternative is a construction in which the modules are in abutting pairs in each of which the bedroom sections are contiguous and the living-dining room-kitchen sections are remote on opposite sides of the respective bedroom sections. With such a structure the three bedrooms of a three-bedroom unit are together.

The expression the living quarters are predominately on one story only" in the claims is intended to mean that the portion of the living quarters where the occupying family spends most of its time is on one story only. This portion usually includes the kitchen, living room and at least one bedroom (FIGS. 2 and 6). A unit which is in the form of a story and one-half but still effectively retains the function of the hillward out-ofdoors facility and its advantages is regarded as within the scope of this expression; likewise a unit including a bathroom, bedroom, or game room or the like which is partly underground is within the scope of this expression.

While preferred embodiments of this invention are disclosed herein, many modifications thereof are feasible. This invention is not to be restricted except insofar as is necessitated by the spirit of the prior art.

lclaim:

l. A housing assembly for disposition on a hill having a plurality of independent ground supports at different elevation, each of said supports capable of itself supporting a separate housing unit, said assembly including a plurality of housing units in which the living quarters are predominately on one story only, each of said units being supportable on a said ground support substantially independently of the others and having a separate access, the said units comprising at least a first housing unit on one of said supports, a second housing unit on the support immediately above said one support, said first housing unit being separated from said hill by a passageway directly out-of-doors from said first unit forming said access to said first housing unit, said second housing unit extending in part over the said passageway to the first housing unit and providing a shelter for said passageway.

2. The apparatus of claim l wherein the angle to the horizontal of a plane defined by the ends of succeeding supports is of the order of 3. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the passageway is approachable from an approach generally perpendicular to the supports.

4. The housing assembly of claim 1 wherein the passageway is approachable by a driven rise.

5. The assembly of claim 3 wherein the approach is at an angle of about 14 to to the horizontal.

6. The housing assembly of claim 1 wherein the passageway is a pedestrian passageway capable of use substantially only by pedestrians and household vehicles such as carts and bicycles and the like, an approach to said passageway generally perpendicular to the supports, said approach being a pedestrian approach capable of use only by pedestrians and household vehicles as aforesaid, vehicle parking facilities only on the perimeter of said assembly, and means providing ready access from said facilities to said approach.

7. The housing assembly of claim 1 wherein a portion of the hill extends between the support on which the first housing unit is disposed and the support on which the second housing unit is disposed, there being in the space bounded by the external wall of said first unit and said portion of said hill an area open to the sky for a court.

8. The assembly of claim 7 wherein the first housing unit is formed of two contiguous sections extending along the support on which said housing unit is disposed, one of said sections being set back away from the portion of said hill between said support and the support on which the second housing unit is disposed with reference to the other section, the court being in the setback portion.

9. The assembly of claim 7 wherein the court has a transparent or translucent cover.

10. The housing assembly of claim 7 wherein the living quarters of the first housing unit extend hillward to the s ace bounded by the external wall of the first unit and t e portion of the hill and the area open to the sky provides natural light and ventilation for the said hillward portion of said living quarters.

11. The housing assembly of claim 1 wherein the first and second housing units both have an unobstructed view away from the hill. 

1. A housing assembly for disposition on a hill having a plurality of independent ground supports at different elevation, each of said supports capable of itself supporting a separate housing unit, said assembly including a plurality of housing units in which the living quarters are predominately on one story only, each of said units being supportable on a said ground support substantially independently of the others and having a separate access, the said units comprising at least a first housing unit on one of said supports, a second housing unit on the support immediately above said one support, said first housing unit being separated from said hill by a passageway directly out-of-doors from said first unit forming said access to said first housing unit, said second housing unit extending in part over the said passageway to the first housing unit and providing a shelter for said passageway.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the angle to the horizontal of a plane defined by the ends of succeeding supports is of the order of 15*.
 3. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the passageway is approachable from an approach generally perpendicular to the supports.
 4. The housing assembly of claim 1 wherein the passageway is approachable by a driven rise.
 5. The assembly of claim 3 wherein the approach is at an angle of about 14* to 30* to the horizontal.
 6. The housing assembly of claim 1 wherein the passageway is a pedestrian passageway capable of use substantially only by pedestrians and household vehicles such as carts and bicycles and the like, an approach to said passageway generally perpendicular to the supports, said approach being a pedestrian approach capable of use only by pedestrians and household vehicles as aforesaid, vehicle parking facilities only on the perimeter of said assembly, and means providing ready access from said facilities to said approach.
 7. The housing assembly of claim 1 wherein a portion of the hill extends between the support on which the first housing unit is disposed and the support on which the second housing unit is disposed, there being in the space bounded by the external wall of said first unit and said portion of said hill an area open to the sky for a court.
 8. The assembly of claim 7 wherein the first housing unit is formed of two contiguous sections extending along the support on which said housing unit is disposed, one of said sections being set back away from the portion of said hill between said support and the support on which the second housing unit is disposed with reference to the other section, the court being in the setback portion.
 9. The assembly of claim 7 wherein the court has a transparent or translucent cover.
 10. The housing assembly of claim 7 wherein the living quarters of the first housing unit extend hillward to the space bounded by the external wall of the first unit and the portion of the hill and the area open to the sky provides natural light and ventilation for the said hillward portion of said living quarters.
 11. The housing assembly of claim 1 wherein the first and second housing units both have an unobstructed view away from the hill. 